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November 2023 by Samantha R.
I have been renting with Budget for several years. I normally rent from the location closest to my home. I have rented from the location at Laguardia Airport, and it was a seamless process. On this occasion it has not been the case. I returned the vehicle the day before my rental was due, unlike the other times that I have returned cars, there was no attendant present and signs posted to leave the key in the car. Normally when the car is returned it's scanned, and I get an email saying it was returned. I noticed I didn't get an email, so I followed up with a phone call to customer service. They acknowledged the vehicle had been returned but that the location had not closed it out. I was directed to another customer service agent to close it out over the phone. When I spoke to the representative, they said they could not do it. Three days later and six customer service reps later the car is listed as not being returned and they attempted to charge my account 1300.00 dollars. If you know that holidays bring an influx of people traveling you should have had an increase of attendants who can process the returns. Having two attendants for what looked like 50 cars being returned at the same time is not enough.
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November 2023 by Eric Wiley
We arrived at LaGuardia at 10:30pm from Orlando. We don’t have bags, so we went directly to the rental car pick up location. After asking an airport employee where the Budget pick-up area was, she stated, “you better hurry because budget closes at 11pm. At this time, it was 10:42pm. We immediately ran outside hoping to catch a shuttle prior to 11pm. We saw enterprise, dollar, national but no budget. I call the budget number & get a person working at the corporate phone center. She explains to me that “if you don’t get there by 11pm, you will have to wait until tomorrow when they open to get a car. At this time, I’m like we have a hotel reservation & need to get this car tonight. As I saw she was no help, i called again to try & get the local office. To no avail, the next person told me that the budget center was under construction & he was not sure if they will be running the shuttle due to construction. At this time, an Avis shuttle comes up & I ask the driver if this is Budget. He says, “yes, at night we do Avis & budget”. Now I’m thinking, great but also, “How was I suppose to know that”. We get to the Avis center & I didn’t have my fast break vehicle ready to go. I had to stand in a line for 30 minutes to get my vehicle then had to drive to New Haven, Ct. I’m not sure I will be using Budget in the near future as this was a big miss after arriving on a late night flight to be greeted with this debacle….
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October 2023 by Phylecia Vargin
TAKE PICTURES UPON LEAVING THE CAR FOR DROP OFF!!! I read the reviews and took pics of the car, the gas tank and the mileage prior to taking the shuttle back to the airport. I left the car on Sunday, and 3 days later I got a notice the car needed to be returned or extended.Shuttle/ Check in process was seamless and easy, just make sure you cross all of your t’s before leaving the vehicle. Customer service helped me close the rental within 20 mins on the phone. I’ve never had this kind of issue with Budget before.
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October 2023 by sunilhere
Horrible experience . Return time was 11 pm and my car arrived at 10:45 .Gatemen Gustavo said it is closed and I can’t return car now and has to return at 6 am next day. Then after begging for help he showed some mercy and allowed me. Then I went inside and notified manager Elliott . He was even worse as I asked his name and told him I willLet corporate knowAbout very poor service and he threatened me due to that . Overalll disaster . Will never rent with budget .
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October 2023 by Jim Zisson
Budget LaGuardia lot worst ever. Took 1hr in Fastbreak line to get car. Only 1 lame rental agent for 20 people waiting. Filthy counter space empty cigarette pack in driver's seat if car. Very dirty windshield inside. They could care less. Next time, Enterprise.
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October 2023 by Julian De La Paz
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. I waited in line for 2+ hours in order to get a vehicle. There were 2 agents at the desk, and they seemed to be in no rush to expedite anyone. Fastbreak also wasn’t accepted, so there’s no use in being a part of their loyalty program.
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October 2023 by Dave P.
Oh no! What the heck is going on here!? I have rented vehicles around the country for work and personal and this was like I was in a Seinfeld episode. Surreal. Reserved thru Costco travel as usual. Arrived with my daughter at 12:05pm and left at 1:30pm with only 8 people in front of me. So what did I experience?3 staff overworked. They tried their best. Then in the middle of the rush, with around 25 people in line, one staff left and never came back. No separate line for the express rental. These renters were called up in front of people waiting for up to an hour causing many angry comments and arguments Renters that didn't have documents or license or credit card info ready. Then demanding different cars once they saw theirs and going to front of line. Double booking same car to two different renters, again both coming back to front of line and delaying other rentersCars that were not clean, smelled, and one renter came back saying the tire had a bubble in the side wallStaff should have announced to renters in line to use app to pre enter license and credit card info to speed up process. This location needs a manager. The Manager on Duty sign had no name! No leadership. Not enough staff to clean and turn around vehicles quickly. Oh my. What a horrible experience
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October 2023 by Mark S.
Worst experience renting a car ever. Got to Budget from La Guardia via shuttle (no problems). Got in line only to hear from other customers that the wait is 1 1/2 hour. Everyone in line had either reservations or Fast Break. Finally got to, sadly, the slowest clerk, he took a minimum of another 30 minutes to process the paperwork. Directed to go to the space number. Wrong space. Go back into office. Assigned another car and went to the space. Wrong car. Back to the office. They ended up giving us a Toyota RAV4. The best part was returning the car. Simple and easy.
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September 2023 by cornell johnson
When I got to the location the staff was so unorganized. They seemed as if they was confused. When dropping off the vehicle there was no one there to check in the car. 3 days after dropping off the car I got a email stating the car was never turned in after which I had to work out this unnecessary matter. I will never recommend Budget after this experience. I also will post the pictures showing the car was returned.
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September 2023 by Taya B.
I have no words for how slow the service here is. If you have 2 hours to waste waiting in a line (rain or shine) this is the place to go! Walking to your destination is probably a better option. Literally choose anywhere else to rent a car.
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September 2023 by Wendy Whitmore
Worst rental counter I have ever experienced. 20+ people in line. 2 uninterested attendants rotating in and out of the room. No manager, no air conditioning, no smoke alarm. It took over an hour and a half from the time we walked in to get to the front of the line. Everyone in line was late for something by the time they got their cars. Never again! Book anywhere else. Or take the train. Seriously. What a waste of time and money.
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September 2023 by Brittany Merriweather
The process was outrageous 90 degrees with a disabled person and they wouldn’t let us expedite our process to obtain the van. The van was filthy and damaged and when asked for replacement it would be another long wait. Dissatisfied and saddened at how budget not only treats the disabled but the elderly.
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September 2023 by Alyssa Romeo
I couldn't believe the wait. Just over 2 hours to get to the counter on a Saturday morning. I understand flights had been cancelled the night before and those rebookings landed that morning, and the US Open was in town, but these are situations where you call in extra staff. Based on other reviews it sounds like Saturdays are very busy here so if you have to book a car, expect a long wait. The outside enclosure traps heat and despite there being ceiling fans installed, when I asked if they could turn them on to help people stay a littler cooler in the 80+ degree heat the person at the counter said she didn't think they could turn them on... I also ended up being assigned an SUV when I ordered a compact. Not a terrible upgrade, especially since they didn't charge me for it, but the car smelled like cigarettes to me (it was musty) and my travel companions and I nicknamed it Shake Rattle & Roll because of all the noise it made. On the positive side, my return flight ended up getting cancelled the morning of departure and I hadn't returned the car yet. It ended up being an easy process to call and extend the reservation for an extra day and drop off at a different location because I ended up needing to drive myself home. However, them being able to do that did not negate the frustrating pickup experience, which is the basis of my review. I will say that the woman who helped me at the counter was super nice and apologetic, and even though I could tell she was overwhelmed, she took the time to answer all of my questions.
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September 2023 by S Cohen
Scam charge for 'fuel service' even when returning with full tank and receipt shown at return. Delays at pickup are the rule at this location.
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September 2023 by Elliot Taillon
Did not open at 6! When it finally opened a half hour late and we were clearly rushed, the only representative helping the line of people had no sense of urgency and we waited another half hour. Made all the more frustrating by the fact there was a manager in back not being remotely helpful.We finally got to the front of the line only to find they did not have the car we booked and paid for. I booked this car BECAUSE they opened at 6 and I arrived early, I even called to confirm the night before as it was crucial we get out on time. The inability to get helped pushed us back so late we had to cancel. I missed my meetings because of Budget, costing me my entire trip. I canot express the anger that this situation caused. I will never book a Budget car again.Icing in the cake, to get a refund for the car they didn’t have took another half hour on the phone and 4-5 business days! It should be a crime to scam customers like this.
